DOE issues conditional authorisation for Alaska LNG

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a conditional authorisation for the Alaska LNG Project to export LNG to countries that do not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US.

Subject to environmental review and final regulatory approval, Alaska LNG, in the Nikiski Area of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, is authorised to export up to 2.55 billion ft³/d of LNG for a period of 30 years.

Federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to FTA countries. For countries that do not have an FTA with the US, the Natural Gas Act directs the DOE to grant export authorisations unless the proposed exports are inconsistent with the public interest.

The DOE considered the Alaska application separately from other currently pending LNG export applications in the Lower-48 states due to the relative geographic isolation of the natural gas resources on Alaska’s North Slope. North Slope gas has been a stranded resource unavailable to commercial markets. The project proposed by Alaska LNG includes a pipeline intended to make North Slope gas accessible to consumers.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/29052015/non-fta-export-approval-for-alaska-lng-843/